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founder
1[ foun-der ]
/ ˈfaʊn dər /
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noun
a person who founds or establishes something, as a company or institution.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Words nearby founder
Other definitions for founder (2 of 3)
founder2
[ foun-der ]
/ ˈfaʊn dər /
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
to cause to fill with water and sink: Rough seas had foundered the ship in mid-ocean.
Veterinary Pathology. to cause (a horse) to break down, go lame, or suffer from laminitis.
noun
Veterinary Pathology. laminitis.
Origin of founder
2First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English foundren, funder, fonder, from Old French fondrer “to plunge to the bottom, submerge,” from Vulgar Latin fundorāre (unattested), derivative of fundor-, an s-stem noun interpreted as stem of Latin fundus, actually an o-stem noun (stem fund- ) “bottom”
OTHER WORDS FROM founder
un·foun·dered, adjectiveun·foun·der·ing, adjectiveOther definitions for founder (3 of 3)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use founder in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for founder (1 of 3)
founder1
/ (ˈfaʊndə) /
noun
a person who establishes an institution, company, society, etc
Word Origin for founder
C14: see found ²
British Dictionary definitions for founder (2 of 3)
Word Origin for founder
C13: from Old French fondrer to submerge, from Latin fundus bottom; see found ²
usage for founder
Founder is sometimes wrongly used where flounder is meant: this unexpected turn of events left him floundering (not foundering)
British Dictionary definitions for founder (3 of 3)
founder3
/ (ˈfaʊndə) /
noun
- a person who makes metal castings
- (in combination)an iron founder
Word Origin for founder
C15: see found ³
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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